New Delhi, Dec 9: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to disclose the details of a collegium meeting held on December 12, 2018 under the Right to Information Act.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said that only resolutions drawn and signed by all collegium members can be said to be a final decision. Tentative resolutions drawn upon discussion and consultation among the members cannot be said to be final unless they are signed by all of them, it said.
“Collegium is a multi-member body whose tentative decision cannot be brought in the public domain,” it said.
The top court said it cannot place reliance on media reports and the interview of a former member of the collegium and doesn’t want to comment on statements made by the former judge.
In a resolution passed on January 10, 2019, the collegium, whose combination was changed due to the retirement of Justice MB Lokur, mentioned that in its meeting on December 12, 2018 only consultations were held on certain names but no final decision was taken.
The top court passed the verdict on a petition by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj against a Delhi High Court order dismissing her plea seeking the agenda of the Supreme Court Collegium’s meeting held on December 12, 2018, when certain decisions were purportedly taken on the elevation of some judges to the apex court. (Agencies)
Collegium a multi-member body whose tentative decision cannot be brought in public domain SC
Sushil Modi seeks 2 seats for Kashmiri Pandits, 1 for PoJK refugees in J&K Assembly
New Delhi, Dec 9: BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday demanded that two seats should be reserved for the displaced Kashmiri Pandits and one seat for those from the PoJK living in India in the J&K Assembly as per the J&K delimitation commission recommendations.
Modi said that Kashmiri Pandits have suffered a lot during the past three decades and there should be an amendment in the J&K reorganisation commission.
He said that power of the member would be like that of the nominated person of the Puducherry Assembly as per the delimitation commission recommendation .
As per the recommendations of the delimitation commission, the J&K Assembly will have 114 seats out of which 90 will be elected — 47 from the Valley and 43 for the Jammu region.
A total of 24 seats have been reserved for Pakistan occupied parts of J&K (PoJK).
The delimitation commission in its report released in May had recommended:
“Provision of at least two members (one of them must be a female) from the community of Kashmiri Migrants in the Legislative Assembly and such members may be given power at par with the power of nominated members, of the Legislative Assembly of Union Territory of Puducherry.
“The Central Government may consider giving the Displaced Persons from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir some representation in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, by way of nomination of representatives of the Displaced Persons from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.” (Agencies)
Sitharaman to present statement on demands for grants for current fiscal in LS
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present a statement in the Lok Sabha on Friday showing first batch of supplementary demands for grants for the current fiscal.
She will also present a statement showing excess demands for grants for 2019-20 in the Lower House.
Apart from this, the Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda will introduce The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022.
He will also introduce a bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu.
Munda will also introduce a bill to further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to provide for inclusion of certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Himachal Pradesh.
The Minister will further introduce a bill to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.
He will also introduce The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh.
In addition to this, the Lok Sabha will also seek to discuss and pass the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, on which discussion had started on Wednesday.
The Lower House will also seek to discuss and pass The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022. It was introduced in the House on Wednesdau.
BJP MP Satyapal Singh will present the ninth report of the joint committee on offices of profit in Lok Sabha.
BJP MP Locket Chatterjee will present the 22nd and 23rd report of the standing committee on food, consumer affairs and public distribution in Lok Sabha.
Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani will make a series of statements on status of implementation of recommendations made in reports of standing committee on HRD on safety of women, and also on the status of implementation of recommendations made in reports Nos. 333, 334 and 338 of the standing committee on women, children, youth and sports on demands for grants for the current fiscal.
Irani will also make a statement on the status of implementation on recommendations of the standing committee on demand for grants for 2021-22.
Source of funding major challenge for J&K’ Metro project; formalities finalised, waiting for GoI’s approval says official
SRINAGAR: The much-awaited Jammu and Kashmir’s mega metro project set to come up at a whopping Rs 11,000 Crore is set to begin but the technical glitch is that the sources of funding are yet to be explored to set the ball rolling
Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) has completed all the formalities and has also sent the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in this regard.
An official on the condition of anonymity, that the DPR submitted for the metro rail projects is still in the approval process as the involvement of huge funds remains the reason for the delay in the project.
“There is a lot of funding involved for the mega project and there is a need to find the sources of funding as well. This is something we are looking at…,” the official said, adding that nonetheless, the project is well-created and well-made
“The alignments and other mandatory processes are well designed and created. They are touching on urban hubs, which require modern urban mobility planning. Everything has been kept in mind and the DPR has been submitted in this regard,” sources, privy to the project said.
Sources said that everything has been finalized by the MRTC, but the project has not been approved yet and would likely take some more time to get approved. “The ball is in the court of the Government of India now. The project can be carried forward only after the nod of the union government,” they said.
Pertinently, the Jammu and Kashmir government had submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Rs 10, 599 crore for the metro rail projects in Jammu and Srinagar to the centre for approval, which include Rs 5,734 crore for Srinagar and Rs 4,825 crore for Jammu.
Notably, on completion, Srinagar and Jammu will become the first two non-major cities in India to have the rapid transport network functional.
As per the project, Jammu Light Metro will operate 17 hours a day around the year while Srinagar Light Metro will operate 17 hours daily during summers and 14 hours daily for winters.
The metro rail lines will have only elevated corridors as the underground tunnels were not found feasible. The coaches of the Metrolite system will be modern, lightweight and made from stainless steel and aluminium with an air-conditioning system, as per the DPRs.
The Jammu Light Rail System will have a 23-kilometre length with 22 stations between Bantalab and Bari Brahmana whereas Srinagar light rail system will have a 25-kilometre length which includes a 12.5-kilometre length from Indira Nagar to HMT Junction and 12.5-kilometer length from Hazuri Bagh to Osmanabad with 24 stations (12 stations on each corridor).
249 fresh COVID-19 cases in India
New Delhi, Dec 9: India recorded 249 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, while the number of active cases declined further to 4,228, according to Union health ministry data.
With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 4,46,74,439. The death toll has climbed to 5,30,653 with six fatalities reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
No deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry website.
A decrease of 16 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,39,558, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry’s website, 219.96 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 last year, three crore on June 23 and four crore on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
Confident of rooting out terrorism menace from our soil: Lt Governor
Jammu, Dec 08: Noting that social development and aspirations of people can be fulfilled only in conditions of peace, the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said every segment of society must realise the futility of conflict and utility of peace, harmony and brotherhood.
Addressing the Message of Humanity Conference organised by Dogra Sadar Sabha, J&K. Lt Governor said We are witnessing new threats to peace, and terrorism exported by the neighbouring country is one of them. We are dealing with threat of terrorism firmly and confident of rooting out this menace from our soil.”
The Conference was presided over by Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan.
In his presidential address, Arif Mohammed Khanspoke elaborately on the message of different religions. He said Secularism has been a core characteristic of Indian society since ages and organisations like Dogra Sadar Sabha represent the inherent values and traditions of our ancient Indian culture.
‘Prosperity and growth require unity and oneness. Our nation is home to unity in diversity and it has always welcomed every religion that ever came to this land. Many prominent religions have their deep connections with this land about which many people do not know,’ he added.
Addressing the gathering, the Lt Governor said that the convention provided a unique platform to spread the eternal & universal message of peace, social equality and communal harmony; aptly echoing the belief of all humanistic thinkers around the world.
‘We are the inheritors of a great civilisation that has always believed in world peace and universal brotherhood. Thinkers and individuals must take advantage of the immense moral force of the two and contribute to create an inclusive ecosystem for the society, ‘he said.
As India has assumed G20 Presidency for the next one year, the message of peace, friendship and cooperation enshrined in our cultural heritage should become the guiding principle for the world, said the Lt Governor
Earlier, prominent religious scholars from different religions, including Padma Shri Vishwamurti Shastri, Moulana Shahzad Azam AnwariQasmi, President SGPC, S Ranjit Singh and Fr.Lawrence Tharsis, spoke about the message of fraternity and love as taught by all religions which need to be instilled in the hearts of younger generations.
Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, President Dogra Sadar Sabha, in his welcome address threw light on the foundation of Dogra Sadar Sabha and the vision behind organising the conference on “Message of Humanity”.
Office bearers and senior members of Dogra Sadar Sabha, and prominent personalities of society and large gathering of people from all walks of life were present on the occasion.
Supreme Court dismisses curative petition seeking probe into ‘genocide’
New Delhi, December 8
The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a curative petition seeking a probe by the CBI/NIA or any other court-appointed agency into the alleged mass murders and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) in Jammu and Kashmir during 1989-90.
“In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra,” a Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice S Abdul Nazeer said, dismissing the curative petition filed by Roots in Kashmir, a group of Kashmiri Pandits.
The order dated November 22 was uploaded on the top court’s website recently.
“No evidence will be available after 27 years. What happened is heart-wrenching but we can’t pass orders now,” the top court had said on July 24, 2017 while dismissing the main petition. On October 24, 2017, the top court also dismissed the petitioner’s review petition.
However, citing the re-opening of anti-Sikh riots’ case after over 30 years, the petitioner had in the curative petition contended that no limitation period was applicable in crimes against humanity and in cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Questioning the court’s 2017 order, the curative petition alleged that the J&K Police miserably failed to make any progress in hundreds of FIRs pending with them.
On September 2, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a PIL seeking direction to the government to rehabilitate/resettle Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs, including those who migrated since 1990 from Kashmir to any other part of India due to terrorism. However, it had given liberty to the petitioner NGO to approach the Central Government and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the grievances.
However, citing the re-opening of anti-Sikh riots’ case after over 30 years, the petitioner had in the curative petition contended that no limitation period was applicable in crimes against humanity and in cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Questioning the court’s 2017 order, the curative petition alleged that the J&K Police miserably failed to make any progress in hundreds of FIRs pending with them.
On September 2, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a PIL seeking direction to the government to rehabilitate/resettle Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs, including those who migrated since 1990 from Kashmir to any other part of India due to terrorism. However, it had given liberty to the petitioner NGO to approach the Central Government and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the grievances.
Srinagar-Leh highway closed for vehicular movement
SRINAGAR: The Srinagar-Leh road was on Friday closed for vehicular movement after fresh snowfall at Zoji La Pass, officials said on Friday.
An official said that the Srinagar-Leh highway has been closed keeping in view the slippery condition of the road.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir police traffic on its official Twitter handle also confirmed that SSG road & Mughal Road has been closed for vehicular movement.
“Traffic update at 0700 hrs. Traffic plying on Jammu-Srinagar NHW. Mughal road and SSG Road closed for vehicular movement due to fresh snowfall,” Traffic Police tweeted.
Landslide win of PM Modi’s BJP in Gujarat grabs global headlines
Global news outlets have widely reported on the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat where Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a campaign to a record win on his home turf.
On Thursday, the ruling BJP recorded a historic win in Gujarat, winning 156 seats. The BJP’s 7th consecutive Assembly poll win in Gujarat is also its biggest since the founding of this state in 1960. The Straits Times of Singapore, the Nikkei Asia, Al Jazeera, Independent, ABC News were among the global publications which displayed photographs of jubilant celebrations of the BJP’s win in Gujarat.
British publication The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Modi had given a significant boost to his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a sign of the party’s enduring popularity before a general election due in 2024.
Noting how BJP has not lost a Gujarat assembly election since 1995, Japan’s Nikkei Asia attributed this win to PM Modi’s popularity in the state of Gujarat.
“Modi is wildly popular in the state, where he served as chief minister for nearly 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014,” the newspaper said.
The Japanese daily said Modi held a series of campaign rallies in the state, lending his star power to the BJP’s campaign. “Many residents take pride in the fact that the Gujarat-born Modi represents India at the global level, and feel a sense of responsibility to support him,” the newspaper added.
The UK-based The Independent said the record win in Gujarat is a big boost to the BJP ahead of the national elections in 2024.
Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Ajay Gudavarthy told Al Jazeera that the BJP’s comfortable win in Gujarat shows a deeper consolidation of the Hindu vote.
BJP gets 53.33% vote share in Gujarat; AAP eats into Congress with 12%
Dec 8 (IANS) It is a big win for the BJP and the AAP in the Gujarat Assembly elections with the former bagging 53.33 per cent vote share and the latter getting a 12 per cent share.
The Congress share has shrunk to 26.9 per cent, as per the Election Commission (EC)figures of 12 p.m.
According to the EC data, BJP was leading in 150 seats, Congress in 22 seats, AAP six, Samajwadi Party on one and independent on three seats.
BJP General Secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela told the media that people have rejected the Congress and AAP both, and one more time Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the party to not just a landslide victory but the BJP has won record breaking seats, setting a new record in Gujarat’s electoral politics.
Congress candidate Lalit Vasoya alleges that the AAP worked as the ‘B’ team of the BJP by denting the Congress votes. “Its presence helped the BJP to cross 150 seats,” said Vasoya.